1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an enclosed sanitary facility for animals, and more particularly to an enclosed indoor commode for use by cats.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known to provide indoor toilet facilities for household pets, particularly cats. Such facilities are normally used to contain a loose, absorbent material, such as granulated clay, for receiving animal excretions. The material is commonly referred to as litter.
It has previously been known to provide litter containers which are completely enclosed but which include an opening for providing access for the animal to the enclosed space. Examples of completely enclosed litter containers are found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,630 to Dearing et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,523 to Coleman, and U.S. Pat. No. 394,258, filed Sept. 5, 1973, and now abandoned. These devices include upper and lower enclosure portions which are removably joined together. The lower enclosure portion contains the litter, and the upper enclosure portion may be separated therefrom to allow for cleaning of the container and changing of the litter.
A drawback of some known devices having separable upper and lower enclosure portions is that certain pets have a tendency to spray urine against the inside walls of the container. This urine may leak from the joint between the enclosure portions to the exterior of the container and it may also collect in the region of the joint and cause odor problems.
Preventing urine from collecting in the joint or leaking therefrom conflicts with providing low cost construction, ease of separability of the enclosure portions and use of a resilient, unbreakable, thin walled material in the construction of the container. While the aforementioned U.S. Patent to Coleman shows a construction which may minimize the problem of urine leakage or collection of urine in the joints between the enclosure portions, the construction does not provide the advantages of simplicity, low cost, ease of manufacturing, ease of separation of the enclosure portions, and use of a resilient material in construction.
In this regard, it is advantageous to provide a device wherein each enclosure portion has a one-piece construction and is molded from low density polyethylene or other resilient plastic material. In such a device it is desirable to provide a widened flange or widened rim portion on each enclosure portion. The rim and flange strengthen and add rigidity to the enclosure portions and provide a relatively rigid bearing region for joining the two enclosure portions together. Also, the widened rim portion on the upper enclosure portion, particularly when it fits over the outside of the widened flange portion of the lower enclosure portion, as here, provides a desirable handle or gripping surface for removing the upper enclosure portion from the lower enclosure portion to clean the litter container.
It is also desirable, in a construction of the foregoing type, to provide a relatively free fit between the upper and lower enclosure portions. This provides ease of manufacturing and lower cost. It also ensures easy separability of the upper enclosure portion from the lower enclosure portion. This type of free fitting construction, however, while having important advantages, may lead to the urine collection and urine leakage problem discussed above.